A 10-month-old Egyptian baby is recovering in hospital after having a second head removed from her.

The rare condition occurs when one of two conjoined twins fails to develop completely in the womb.
Manar Maged is being treated in intensive care at Benha Children's Hospital in Cairo. She is not yet fully conscious, doctors said.

The second head was able to smile and blink, but could not have survived on its own, doctors said.

The weight of a second head attached to her own was preventing Manar from sitting or crawling.

"Manar's breathing has improved... Her temperature and heartbeat is normal," Nasif Hifnawy, one of the doctors who operated on the baby, told Reuters news agency.

Another paediatrician of the 13-strong team said he expected her to remain in intensive care for at least a week.

Doctors have also said the girl can move her limbs and does not show signs of paralysis, but refused to give more details of her recovery.

They said they had been instructed to do so by the Egyptian presidency and the baby's father.

A similar operation was carried out on a girl in the Dominican Republic last year, but the child did not survive.